I arrived back home yesterday about noon after having a perfect time (with the exception of coming down with a bit of a cold the last couple of days.) I managed to avoid both the rain and Tulsa on the way back, the rain through none of my own doing and Tulsa because President Biden was visiting on Tuesday when I would have arrived to spend the night and when the President comes to town, major roads close down. So I made like an Okie from Muskogee (lyrics follow), heading there and then to Oklahoma City for the night without ever going near Tulsa. Worked like a charm. The next night Albuquerque and tonight home and I got to watch Stanley Cup hockey playoff games in the motels. 🙂 Tomorrow it’s back to the real work and blogs as well. Happy Friday.


Merle Haggard
We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don’t take no trips on LSD
We don’t burn no draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin’ right, and bein’ free.
We don’t make no party out of lovin’;
We like holdin’ hands and pitchin’ wool;
We don’t let our hair grow long and shaggy,
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.
And I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin’s still the biggest thrill of all.
Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear;
Beads and Roman sandals won’t be seen.
Football’s still the roughest thing on campus,
And the kids here still respect the college dean.
And I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin’s still the biggest thrill of all.
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.
Glad you returned safely after a wonderful visit. Gorgeous peony, it’s one of my favorite spring flowers.
We had a lot of them when I was growing up and I always liked them except for the ants that sometimes got in the house when you brought them inside.
I brought three in this morning and kept shaking out ants until I got them all. 🙂
Cheers to your safe return, good planning of avoiding Tulsa, and for the peonnies.
Thanks, Frank.
Beautiful peony shots!
Thanks very much, Sarah.
janet
That’s a gorgeous Peony! I’m glad you made it there and back again safely, and had a great time!
Thanks, Deborah. I was welcomed back by 106 degree temperatures. Sigh. 🙂
Wow, that’s hot! Try to keep cool!
Good planning. We used to have roads close here when President Bush would come to visit some rich friends. We live nowhere near to his friends, but the roads everywhere were blocked. It was a mess. Lovely photo that makes it all better.
The route I took turned out to be much nicer than going through Tulsa anyway, so that was win-win. 🙂 Doesn’t matter whom the President visits or where or when, roads get shut down and routines disrupted. I simply opted out.
Cool lyrics and never heard of Muskogee so I really like expanding knowledge of fun geographical things like this.
And I can relate to the presidential visits – we’ve had streets here shut down for past visits and it really can cause delays so you were wise to detour around the area
And the Stanley cup watching in the hotel sounds fun!
Last December I was in a hotel and ended up watching Bionic Man and Columbo shows.
So fun
I’d heard of the song before, just the title, but never knew Muskogee was a real town. The detour turned out to be quite scenic, so that was good. I love hockey and else decided not to get cable when we moved, so we don’t get the channel the hockey games are on, which meant I particularly enjoyed seeing the games.
Oh even better to enjoy the hockey then
Oh and that peony – you showed their plumpness and fullness
They were quite plump, Yvette. Hope all’s well with you.
Hi things are good here – a little exhausted doing too much the last couple months but hooky July will be quieter
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And my husbands grandmother had peonies at her home in Denver – they were transplants from another home and in the 1990s she said they were almost 100 years old and she had the peonies moved to their house when it was built in the 50s
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At the time (in 99s) I was not that impressed by the rows of peonies around the fence- they were heavy and droopy.
But your photos really show the beauty
Love Pionies and can totally relate to the ants. Great creative thinking on the route. Must also be nice to be back home
It’s a blessing to be able to travel and visit friends and a blessing to have people I love to come home to. 🙂
Pretty!
I’ve always liked peonies.
Me too!
🙂 Good to hear you had a safe journey back home, dear Janet!
Stay safe and have a very HAPPY Sunday!
Claudia xo 🙂
Thanks, Claudia. It always makes me happy to hear from you. Enjoy what’s left of your Sunday and have a week filled with joy and blessings.
Hahaha! I remember that song… from somewhere …. somehow.
Welcome home! Peonies are one of the lushest flowers. I always think they look like gowns, but then many flowers do.
Fab shots, Janet!
Glad you enjoyed them, Resa. I’ve always found them attractive, they just don’t have very strong stems compared to the weight of the flowers when putting them inside.
True!
Ahh, float them in a crystal bowl!
Good idea but too late now that I live in the desert. 🙂